1.2 lakh Indian children lost caregivers: study

What is the News?

A Global Study has been published in Lancet estimating the number of children who lost one or both parents or caregiver during Covid-19.

About the study:

• The study was conducted by researchers from the CDC Covid-19 Response Team, University of Oxford, WHO and others.
• Coverage: It covered 21 countries that accounted for nearly 77% of global Covid-19 deaths as of April 30, 2021.
• Method: Researchers estimated deaths of parents or caregivers based on Covid-19 mortality data from March 2020 through April 2021 and national fertility statistics.

Key Findings:

Globally:

• Globally, around 11.34 lakh children lost a primary caregiver (at least one parent or custodial grandparent).
• The children who lost only either a mother or a father totalled over 1 million (10.42 lakhs).
• If we include other co-residing grandparents (or other older relatives), the total is 15.62 lakh children.
• Moreover, there were up to five times more children who lost a father than who lost a mother.

India:

• In India, an estimated 1.19 lakh children lost a primary caregiver — one or both parents, or one or both custodial grandparents. Among them, 1.16 lakh lost one or both parents.
• India is placed third after Mexico (1.41 lakh) and Brazil (1.30 lakh) that have the highest number of children who have lost a primary caregiver.
• Although India ranks third in absolute numbers, its figure of 0.3 per 1,000 children was much lower than those of countries such as South Africa(5.1), Mexico(3.5), Brazil(2.4), the US(1.5), and others countries.